KUALA LUMPUR, July 16 (Xinhua) -- The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) has raised Malaysia's car sales projection for 2024 after the country's car sales rose 7 percent year on year in the first half.
The MAA said in a statement it has revised upward Malaysia's car sales projection for 2024 to 765,000 units from 740,000 units.
The association said a resilient domestic economy was one of the factors for the adjustment. It noted the Malaysian government is optimistic that Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP) is well placed to expand within the official forecast range of 4 percent to 5 percent.
It also said the Malaysian central bank's decision to maintain the overnight policy rate at 3 percent at its recent Monetary Policy Committee meeting may help stimulate domestic spending including for big ticket items like new cars.
Healthy backlog orders especially in the A segment passenger cars market are also a boost for the car sales, said the MAA.
It also noted that new players and more new model launches including exciting newer and affordable models with newer features for both internal combustion engine vehicles and electrified vehicles, and continuation of aggressive promotional strategies and providing value-added services and more options to customers will lead to improved demand.
According to the MAA, Malaysia's total industry volume (TIV) fell 17 percent to 58,046 units in June, from 70,130 units in May.
Year-on-year comparison also showed Malaysia's car sales dropped by 7 percent from 62,601 units in June last year.
However, the TIV for the first half rose to 390,296 units from 366,176 units a year ago.
This increase in the TIV can be attributed mainly to the strong showing by the passenger cars sub-segment which contributed the biggest volume increase.
"Sales in July 2024 are expected to be maintained at June 2024 level," said the MAA. ■